Let It Be- a DIY guide to failing every now and again

I came across a Woody Allen quote once and it has stuck with me. 

"If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative." 

Well on my last project "innovation" was my middle name, because it was definitely a swing and a miss. Let me start at the beginning...

Last summer Ben and I were on vacation at his uncle's summer home. We were in one of the local shops and found a window for sale that had been salvaged from an old barn. So we bought it for $20 and took it home with visions of a glorious DIY project dancing in our heads.

Now last month I found that old window (I'm a procrastinator, remember?) and painted the frame a lovely pea green color (I know what you are thinking, but the color of the frame is NOT where this project went awry). 

Armed with confidence from the successful paint job, I boldly charged on to step 2. Throwing caution to the wind I decided to try something new...unique...creative even. And that my friends, is where our tragedy begins.

It all began, with 3 little words- LET IT BE.

I know it seems innocent enough. But those three words were my downfall with this project. There just so happened to be 3 panes in this window, so of course I thought I'd get fancy and use some vinyl lettering as stencils, stick one of the words Let it Be in each panel, paint the negative spaces with some acrylic paint, and BAM! A DIY project worthy of the Hall of Fame.

Let's just say reality didn't even come close. From the color palette I mixed up to the method of painting, it was a disaster. In my mind I'd pictured something unique, simple and cool. But the end product was a horrible camouflage type look that even the bravest of hunters wouldn't touch with a 10ft pole.

(At first, I was going to go for a solid striped look with the paint, but after the first brush stroke the artist in me thought, "Hmmm, uniformity is boring, I'll just let the colors blend." FYI- Sometimes boring is better.)

Well, let's just say there was a clean up on aisle innovation. It took me three quarters of a bottle of fingernail polish remover and about a gazillion paper towels, but I am now back to a blank canvas on my DIY Hall of Fame project.

And guess what? Before there was Woody Allen there was Thomas Edison, and it took him 1,000 tries before he invented the light bulb. 

He said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

So I suppose I can't throw in the towel just yet. Maybe the Hall of Fame is still within reach.  Stay tuned for take 2.

-Michelle